I.
CHRIST AT THE DOOR 81
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with Me."—REV. iii. 20.
II.
THE DARK ENIGMA OF DEATH 92
ST. JOHN xi.
III.
THE STORY OF DORCAS 108
ACTS ix. 36-43.
IV.
UNFULFILLED CHRISTIAN WORK 118
"And unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write; These things saith
He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy
works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be
watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die:
for I have not found thy works perfect before God."—REV. iii. 1, 2.
Reading the last clause a little more literally will more fully bring
out the meaning: "For I have found no works of thine fulfilled before
my God."—R.V.
V.
A LESSON IN CHRISTIAN HELP 133
"Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the [en]∆feeble[d]
knees; and make straight [smooth] paths for [with] your feet, lest that
which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed
[or, in order that that which is lame may not be caused to go astray,
but may rather be healed]."—HEB. xii. 12, 13.
VI.
JOSEPH'S FAITH 149
(_Preached on Sunday Evening, October 20th, 1889, in St. John's Wood
Presbyterian Church._)
"By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the
children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his
bones."—HEB. xi. 22.
VII.
THE BRAZEN SERPENT 162
"He [Hezekiah] removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut
down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had
made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to
it: and he called it Nehushtan."—2 KINGS xviii. 4.
VIII.
THE GRADATIONS OF DOUBT 175
PSALM lxxiii.
IX.
THE STORY OF QUEEN ESTHER 192
(_Preached in Balham Congregational Church, on Sunday Evening, August
11th, 1889._)
ESTHER iv. 13-17.
X.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE PROPHETS 205
"Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the
Lord, for an example."—JAMES v. 10.
XI.
THE MAKING OF A PROPHET 220
(_Preached at Nottingham, before the Congregational Union of England
and Wales, on Monday Evening, October 8th, 1888._)
"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up, and His train overspreading the temple
floor. Seraphs were poised above, each with six wings, with twain
veiling his face, with twain veiling his feet, and with twain hovering.
And those on one side sang in responsive chorus with those on the other
side, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The fulness of
the whole earth is His glory.' And the foundations of the threshold
trembled at the sound of that singing, and the house was filled with
incense smoke. Then cried I, 'Woe is me! for I am a dead man; because I
am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'
Then flew one of the seraphs unto me, having in his hand a burning
ember, which with a tongs he had taken from off the incense altar; and
he touched my mouth with it, and said, 'Lo, this hath touched thy lips;
and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.' Thereupon I
heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will
go for us?' Then I cried, 'See me; send me.'"—ISAIAH vi. 1-8
(_annotated_).
XII.
FOR AND AGAINST CHRIST 230
"He that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with
Me scattereth."—LUKE xi. 23.
"He that is not against us is on our part."—MARK ix. 40.
XIII.
THE PROPHECY OF NATURE 240
"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the
stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of
him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him
a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and
honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands;
Thou hast put all things under his feet."—PSALM viii. 3-6.
"But now we see not yet all things put under Him."—HEB. ii. 8.
XIV.
CHRISTIAN GIVING 248
(_Preached in Willesden Presbyterian Church, September 24th,
1882._)
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting
of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord."—1 COR. xv. 55-8.
"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to
the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week
let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him,
that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye
shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your
liberality unto Jerusalem."—1 COR. xvi. 1-3.
XV.
OUR LORD'S TREATMENT OF ERRING FRIENDS 267